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Sunday, 4 November 2012

Book Review: The Merchant of Dreams...

THE MERCHANT OF DREAMS:

Night’s Masque Volume 2.

By Anne Lyle.

Mal Catlyn has been living in
France since the political incidents that led him to accuse a powerful nobleman
of treason against the crown and then seek refuge elsewhere. But part of the
skrayling Erishen’s soul is still living inside him and his brother Sandy
becomes more and more lost to him as time passes. Mal can’t put things off any
longer; it is time to find Ambassador Kiiren and resolve things once and for
all.

Coby has been accompanying Mal on
his adventures, in her usual disguise of Jacob Hendricks. Acting the part of
Mal’s valet in public and his friend, and perhaps more, in private, the pair
are once again caught up in the mission to find a way to free Erishen’s soul.
Unfortunately it seems this time her disguise is not working for them and
revealing her true self may be the answer. Coby soon finds herself having to
deal with the irony that after spending so long learning to live as a male, the
prospect of being a female in public is daunting to say the least.

In this second book Coby’s
character was developed more fully and I had much more of a sense of her
desires and motives which helped in empathising with her to a greater degree.
This time around she felt very much an equal to Mal and less a supporting
character to his lead. The skraylings too became a clearer race to understand
and some of the questions raised in book one relating to their abilities and
motives were answered.

Whereas The Alchemist of Souls
took much of its strength from the strong
representation and grounding of its setting in London, The Merchant
of Dreams plays out in more diverse
settings, from the seedy streets of 16th century Venice to the decks
of a pirate ship and the limitless world of the skraylings’ dreams. This
differing landscape injects the story with more vibrancy. There is a faster
pace and much more of a sense of tension and immediacy to this second
instalment.

The Merchant of Dreams has a satisfying ending despite the pain and tragedy
the characters suffer throughout the story, and as I read the last few pages I
got the distinct feeling that there is an even bigger and tougher adventure yet
to come in the concluding part. The exploration of gender, relationships (both
political and personal) and sacrifice continue in a historical fantasy that is
as light-hearted and entertaining as it is deep. Perhaps its most admirable
quality is Lyle’s willingness to explore and represent the minority in a
realistic and unashamed manner.